the people and not to him, that's what he's known for. >> his power comes from this tax pledge. the last thing that he can afford to see more republicans peel off. if they do, then he can't get the next person to sign that pledge. >> tomorrow on "starting point" we're going to be talking to race car driver danica patrick and star of "pretty little liars." cnn newsroom with carols can to casse tell low begins now. horror in bangladesh. two giant clothing factories there go up in flames. they might have made the clothes that are in your closet right now. thousands of workers protest the deaths of their colleagues. were safety warnings ignored? republican rebellion? lindsey graham the latest lawmaker to buck a powerful gop lobbyist and his anti-tax pledge. we'll have the view from the edge of the so-called fiscal cliff. one of the most recognizable voices in hollywood lends his voice to a pro-same-sex marriage

ad. >> freedom, justice and human dignity have always guided our journey toward a more perfect union. now across our country, we are standing together for the right of gay and lesbian americans. >> morgan freeman pointing out why he's behind what voters in three states did on election day. and your $2 could be worth 425 million bucks. power ball reaching a new record. let's dream the dream together, shall we? shall we? "newsroom" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning to you. thank you so much for being with me on this monday morning. i'm carol costello. we begin with the so-called fiscal cliff. 36 days from the crisis. new signs of just how concerned lawmakers really are. more republican lawmakers now say they will work toward a compromise, even if they have to break a promise not to raise taxes. that promise, that pledge, the

brain child of anti-tax activist grover norquist, a long-time power broker in the gop. but the vote faced its first test last week when senator saxby chambliss said he was ready to break the promise. congressman king -- now senator lindsey graham has become the latest republican to say he would violate the pledge if democrats also showed willingness to rein in the nation's debt. >> i want to buy down debt and cut rates to create jobs. i will violate the pledge, long story short, for the good of the country. only if democrats will do entitlement reform. >> let's bring in cnn political editor paul steinhauser. three republican lawmakers. it's not exactly a rebellion, right? >> not a rebellion yet. grover norquist, carol, was on cnn on "starting point" just an hour ago. he said you know what? if any of these lawmakers do make the pledge they have

explaining to do to their voters. take a listen. >> if you want to go to your voters and say i promised you this and i'm breaking my promise, you can have that conversation with them. but you don't have that argument with me. you've made a commitment to your voters. >> norquist also said that nobody who signed the pledge has ever voted to raise taxes. stay tuned on all this as negotiations really get under way. what do americans think about all this, carol, with 36 days to go until the fiscal cliff? take a look at brand-new numbers from cnn/orc, national poll. we asked the effect of this fiscal cliff. if the country goes off the fiscal cliff, the effect on you. look at that. 24% say it's a crisis. 44% say major problems. who would be responsible if there is no agreement? the blame game. take a look at that number as well right there. put that back up. who would be most responsible? 45% say the republicans in

congress. 34% say he would. 15% say both sides would be blamed. one other takeaway? people want mixture. they're not very optimistic a deal will get done. >> let's talk about grover norquist for just a bit, paul. so most americans want taxes raised on the wealthiest americans. we just saw your poll there that 45% of americans would blame republicans if there's no compromise reached to avoid this fiscal cliff. so why is grover norquist still so powerful? why does any republican care? >> well, this pledge has been around for 25 years. that's a long time. it stood through a lot of different crises. take, for instance, saxby chambliss and lindsey graham. both up for re-election in 2014. both would have to go into republican pry maurs. if you break the pledge that could be very detrimental. politics at play. >> because grover norquist is a

powerful lob beeist and he puts money behind candidates that support his pledge? is that it? >> you know, he does -- he does have some influence in the republican primary process. that's why a lot of politicians may be very hesitant to break this kind of pledge. look at the tea party movement and others who would hate to see a raise in taxes. that could come back to hurt you if you're a republican politician running for re-election next time around, carol. >> paul steinhauser reporting live from washington. another possible sign of compromise in washington? republican senator john mccain now says he is open to changing his mind on susan rice if she's nominated to become the next secretary of state. mccain has been one of her most vocal critics. the current u.s. ambassador to the united nations has been criticized. mccain now says he will not block rice's nomination and he'll give her a chance to

explain. >> i give everyone the benefit of explaining their position and the actions that they took. i'll be glad to have the opportunity to discuss these issues with her. >> rice has said that her description of the attack was based on the best intelligence at the moment. republicans have accused her of downplaying an obvious terrorist attack for political motives. other stories we're watching this morning, a huge gas explosion in springfield, massachusetts, that hurt 21 people was the result of human error. the state fire marshal's office says a utility worker inadvertently poked a hole in a high pressure gas line. that line was incorrectly indicated by sidewalk markings. on friday afternoon the gas built up and eventually it ignited. one building was destroyed. dozens more were damaged. police are investigating the death of a suspected shoplifter at a suburban atlanta walmart. several reports say the man left the store with two dvd players. he was stopped by store employees and a security officer

and got into some kind of physical altercation with them. by the time police got there, the victim was unresponsive, bleeding from the nose and mouth. he died later. for the second time in a few days a bangladeshi clothing factory goes up in flames. just this morning a fire started inside a ten-story factory. it took firefighters four hours to get the blaze under control. no one died. but ten people were hurt. but on saturday, at least 117 people were killed in another fire. and more victims could still be found inside. 2,000 people were at work at the time. it's unclear just how many people actually got out. clothing is big business in bangladesh. it's the world's second biggest exporter. you're likely wearing some of the clothing that they make. it's probably in your closet right now. companies like walmart, jc penney, h & m and kohl's all sell clothing made in that asian

country. alison cottkosik joins us from new york stock exchange. such a sad story. people couldn't get out because there were no fire exits. >> it's really terrible. working conditions in these factories, carol, are notoriously poor. according to the clean campaign, an anti-sweat shop add voky group more than 500e workers hae died in fires in the past six years. many of these shops are in cramped neighborhoods. don't have enough fire escapes. don't follow basic safety measures. some experts call these death traps. some advocacy groups are calling on these employers and the government in bangladesh to invest in a countrywide inspection program to make these buildings up to par. for more of the bangladeshis here this is their best option for work. when they speak out against wages which are among the world's lowest or the safety issues, they say they're harassed by their employers. as for the retailers, experts say they need to take more

responsibility, too. for their part many say they're trying to improve. it just doesn'tsome like it's enough. walmart does what's called a global responsibility report. walmart said it stopped working with almost 50 factories in bangladesh last year because of fire safety issues. h & m. is also making an effort toward fire safety and increasing minimum wage in bangladesh. change can be slow to come. in the meantime tragedies continue happening. it builds that ick factor. look what happens to the people who work to make the clothes i buy. >> now 117 people are dead. there are reports out there that the fire started, an alarm went off and there was an announcement over the loud speaker that said ignore that alarm. no worries here. go back to work. the workers went back in and began working again and ended up dying. >> it's nuts. those safety precautions need to be put in. they certainly have to be in these factories in a big way,

carol. >> alison kosik reporting live from the new york stock exchange. several batches of a popular ant anti-cholesterol medication are being pulled from pharmacy shelves. 41 lots of the generic version of lipitor have been recalled. the drug maker says the product might contain small glass particles. the drugs affected include the 10, 20 and 40 milligram tablets. question for you this morning. what would you do with 425 million bucks? you might be able to come up with answers if you win the power ballotry. wednesday's dring will be the biggest jackpot ever for the power ball if you win and take the cash prize. that's $278.3 million before taxes. power ball is played in 42 states, the district of columbia and the u.s. virgin islands. turns our attention to sports now. the nfl says there's no benefit of the doubt when it comes to repeat offenders. the detroit lions defensive taxle ndamukong suh should

expect no leniency when the league reviews this play today. suh kicked houston quarterback matt schaub in the groin, at least it seemed that way during the lions thanksgiving day game. good morning, jamie. >> good morning, carol. how are you? >> i'm good. the nfl is supposed to review this play. do you think it's already made up its mind about suh? >> it sure sounds like it. ray anderson, vice president of football operations was quoted extensively over the weekend. he said what you just said. that is that past actions, past indiscretions will come into play. there was already a report from mike freeman of cbssports.com that suh will be sus penlded for at least one game. apparently he did kick him in the groin. i think when you look at that tape and we've all looked at it over and over again since thanksgiving day. he does roll over. it's hard to say he has control of his leg. there's that kind of secondary motion where it looks to me,

like a lot of people he intentionally strikes schaub right where he did. >> the nfl suspends suh maybe for a game. we're just assuming here. we really don't know. do you think that will change suh's behavior? nothing else seems to have worked. he's been suspended before. he's been fined before. what will it take? >> it's a great question, carol. he was sus penlded as you alluded to a year ago after ironically another thanksgiving day game where he stomped on a green bay packer. suspended two games for that. that suspension came on the heels of a meeting that suh himself initiated with nfl commissioner roger goodell to find out why he was being penalized so hard for his aggressive play on the field. i think suh is a very violent player. he plays right on the edge with a certain amount of rage. i think he crosses that line sometimes. will a one game suspension get to him? i don't think so. because a two game suspension didn't get to him. he doesn't seem to think he's doing anything wrong. he still refers to the play last year against the packers as

trying to remove himself from the situation as opposed to stomping on the other player's arm. we haven't heard from suh since the game on thursday. he usually talks to the media here in detroit on wednesdays. but if he's suspended, he won't be at the practice facility. we may not hear from suh for another week or so to find out exactly what his take is on the action. normally when he talks about these kinds of things, he's in a certain state of denial. >> jamie samuelson from 97.1. thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you, carol. all right. here's a light moment. from the seattle/miami game. did you see this? action stopped in the third quarter when the automatic sprinklers came on by mistake. no word on what went wrong. maybe the dolphins wanted their guests from the northwest to feel more at home on the wet field. you know, kind of like rain. it didn't help the seahawks who wound up losing and are now 1-5 on the road this year. coming up in the "newsroom," protests escalating in egypt. people angry over the egyptian

president mohamed morsi and what they call a power grab. we'll take you live to tahrir square. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. tintroducing a revolutionary. this it new mascara.r aleve. clump crusher...crusher. 200% more volume. zero clumps. new clump crusher from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl.

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16 minutes past the hour. egyptian president mohamed morsi facing more anger over his move to grant himself extensive new powers. according to state news media, it calls morsi's power grab, quote, an unprecedented attack on the young democracy. cnn's reza sayah is in cairo this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. new developments today in tie cairo that could further entangle and muddy what is an already complicated conflict. we have confirmed that next week on december 4th a court in cairo will hear several cases brought against the controversial decrees declared by mr. morsi last week. here's where the intrigue comes in. last week one of his decrees

banned anyone, any authority, even the judiciary from questioning and overturning any of his decisions since he took office. we'll see how that plays out. meantime protests continue. there doesn't seem to be a resolution to this conflict. the leaders of the opposition factions have dug in saying we're not going to have dialogue until mr. morsi rescinds his decrees. a few hours ago we spoke to one of his top advisers and we asked him, is that a possibility? >> what kind of concessions are you willing to make. >> this decision is up to the president, not for us. >> is it possible -- is it possible he will rescind his decrees. >> dialogue with our -- >> are you prepared to consider rescinding, adjusting some of these decrees? >> decree is up to the president. we are accepting it. we may have some reservations. but as a whole we must take a

step to -- forward, not to backward. >> reporter: that was one of the top advisers for mr. morsi. it was tough to get a read on his position. he seemed to say if there is dialogue, we'll consider, consider some concessions. of course, the leaders of the opposition faction saying we're not talking until he reverses his decrees, carol. >> reza sayah reporting live from cairo, egypt, this morning. as you know egypt has been a key player in brokering the cease-fire between israel and hamas. today in cairo, mediators continue talks with israel. topics will include opening border crossing and easing israel's economic blockade in gaza. the ongoing talks come as the palestinian authority leaders go before the united nations this week to renew their bid for statehood. also new this morning, israel's defense minister says he will leave his post in january. ehud barak says he wants to spend more time with his family. but there's been a lot of buzz

he's forming a new party. he's led israel's military for the last five years and served as the nation's prime minister for a couple of years before that. is it over, grover? republicans back away from grover norquist's anti-tax pledge. what do republicans want in return? that's our talk back question today. ♪ [ gordon ] for some this line is a convenience. how you doing today? i'm good thanks. how are you? i'm good. [ gordon ] but for others, it's all they can afford. every day nearly nine million older americans don't have enough to eat. anything else? no, not today. join me, aarp, and aarp foundation in the drive to end hunger by visiting drivetoendhunger.org.

in the drive to end hunger oh, let me guess --ou see this? more washington gridlock. no, it's worse -- look, our taxes are about to go up. not the taxes on our dividends though, right? that's a big part of our retirement. oh, no, it's dividends, too. the rate on our dividends would more than double. but we depend on our dividends to help pay our bills. we worked hard to save. well, the president and congress have got to work together to stop this dividend tax hike. before it's too late.

now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, what should republicans expect in return for new taxes? omg. this is big. two more prominent republicans are throwing anti-tax lobbyist grover norquist under the bus. >> grover is wrong when it comes to we can't tap down desuctiduc and buy down debt. i will violate the pledge. long story short. for the good of the country. only if democrats do will entitlement reform. >> i ask you is that the statement of a poopy head as grover norquist might say? maybe it means the gig is up, grover. not so fast. mr. norquist, a powerful

lobbyist, has long had a lock on nearly every republican in congress. he's the guy that keeps reminding us george h.w. bush lost the election after violating his read my lips, no new taxes pledge. >> if you want to go to the v t voters -- >> still, democrats are heartened by the new grover is over mini movement. although they shouldn't do the happy dance just yet. republicans will want payback, as in medicare, medicaid and social security. so for all of you who want tax hikes for the wealthy, what are you willing to give up in return? on social security? raising the retirement age to 70? on medicare, a total revamp is in instead of the government paying your medicare bills, you pay them with help from the government? you tell me. talk back question this morning, what should republicans expect in return for new taxes? facebook.com/carolcnn.

facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. more republican lawmakers -- well, as i just said, they're willing to break that no new tax pledge. we'll talk about that with our political panel, next. we use this board to compare car insurance rates side by side so you get the same coverage, often for less. that's one smart board. what else does it do, reverse gravity? [ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ whooshing ] tell me about it. why am i not going anywhere? you don't believe hard enough. a smarter way to shop around. now that's progressive. call or click today. [ grunting ] you can stay in and like something... or you can get out there and actually like something. the lexus december to remember sales event is on. this is the pursuit of perfection. how they'll live tomorrow.

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good morning to you. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for being with me. stories right now in the "newsroom," you don't usually see an archbishop ringing the opening bell on wall street. that's what timothy dolan is doing today. he's the archbishop of new york and he's raising awareness about new yorkers in need, catholic and non-catholic charities. dow back over 13,000. futures down this morning as investors keep an eye on those fiscal cliff talks. demonstrators are filling cairo's tahrir square saying they will not leave until president mohamed morsi backs down. morsi's meeting with egypt's

highest judicial body after slashing its authority. they're calling his power grab an unprecedented attack. for the second time in as many days a fire starts inside a bangladesh clothing factory. no one was killed in today's fire which took firefighters four hours to get under control. but on saturday, at least 117 people were killed in another fire at another factory. because of those fires, thousands of workers have taken to the streets, protesting the deaths of their colleagues. israel's defense minister ehud barak is resigning. he says he's quitting politics to spend more time with his family. the announcement comes as israel tries to keep a fragile cease-fire with the palestinian militant group hamas. their eight day conflict killed more than 160 people, most of them in gaza. more than one democrat is tempted to do the happy dance over some republicans' renunciation of grover

norquist's no tax pledge. one of the latest is republican representative peter king. >> i agree entirely with saxby chambliss. a pledge you signed 20 years ago, 18 years ago is for that congress. if i were in congress in 1941 i would have supported a declaration of war against japan. i'm not going to attack japan today. the world has changed and the economic situation is different. >> republican senator saxby chambliss said, quote, country is more important than pledges. sorry, americans for tax reform and grover norquist, i'm in and out. it all sounds promising. you know, when it comes to compromise. except senators like lindsey graham didn't exactly say he was now open to raising taxes on the wealthiest americans. he actually said he supports capping deductions and buying down debt. which is different. so the question this morning, how excited should we really be by all of this talk of throwing grover norquist under the bust? under the bus, rather, not the

bus. cnn contributor will cain is here along with jason johnson, chief political correspondent and political science professor at hiram college. welcome to you both. >> good morning. >> will, are we getting too excited about this? what's up with this? >> is it something to get excited about? i don't know. what we hear here is something that republicans are willing to give a little ground on in order to reach a compromise. towards, i guess, paying down our debt. here's the deal, carol. this pledge has been overstated from the beginning. the deal is there's two parties to a negotiation. you don't get to walk into a room and say here's my demands. here's what it's going to be. unless you own both houses of the legislature and the presidency. republicans don't own it. in order to get a reform that, yes, is going to require spending reform as well, entitlement reform, republicans are going to have to give in on taxes. the question also is, is will democrats give in on entitlement and spending reform? i don't know about that yet. >> i was going to ask jason johnson that very question. these powerful republicans are

coming out and saying, okay, we're willing to bend a little on the tax thing. what do you got for us? >> you know, i can't speak for democrats. but i can speak as someone who looks at this as a common sense american. every time you lose an election you have to learn how to compromise. democrats compromised with george bush after 2004. republicans, they recognized this fiscal cliff will not help them. it's a wylie coyote, road runner thing. they do not want to be accused as being the reason america goes off the fist cal cliff. i think it's reasonable. i think democrats and republicans recognize the war is over. time to think about 2014, 2016, roll up our sleeves and negotiates. >> i'm trying to figure out exactly what that'll mean. will there be changes in social security, will cain? changes in the medicare program? will we really think about switching to a voucher program? >> i don't know, carol. look, democrats are giving lip service to reforming some of our

entitlements like medicare. senator dick durbin was on abc and suggested that. the minute you push for specifics, raising the retirement age on medicare, he starts to flounder. i don't know we're moving towards any kind of deal yet. on politics, simplicity sells. a tax pledge is very simple. it communicates with your voters directly. here's the deal. republicans want low taxes for two reasons. they believe it's better for economic growth. we lost the election. we're going to lose that battle. also because they believe it will force spending restraints. i'm not sure that's true. voters need to feel the consequences of your decisions. if you choose higher spending you might just have to pay for it with higher taxes. sooner or later that burden might have to be the spending restraints. >> i think voters are already feeling the consequences, though, aren't they, jason? >> yeah. voters are already feeling the consequences. i also think the voters said something in 2012. look, we are tired of rigidity in washington. tired of people holding on to 20 year pledges. like saying i won't wear

parachute pants or use trapper keepers. it's 20 years old. look at where america is now. democrats are still crowing for a little bit. they'll probably bend a little bit on social security. they'll bend a little bit on pell grants. i think both sides want to get it done. republicans recognize there is no benefit, they tried last year to make obama look bad with these situations. it didn't help. he got re-elected. time to move on. >> just a last question. i know we've heard from two prominent senators, republican senators who said they're willing to bend on this pledge. we did hear from peter king, a congressman. no many house members are running to the microphones to renounce grover norquist's tax pledge. isn't that where we're going to have the most trouble, will? >> yeah. you definitely have the most trouble in the house of representatives. look, republicans are still dedicated to a low tax principle. they still want to achieve that. the problem is i used to own businesses, carol. i used to buy and sell newspapers. i didn't get to tidictate the

price. >> i think you in your passionate hand gesture you knocked your microphone off. >> did i really? you just missed genius. you missed genius. >> i was so eager to hear what you were saying. >> i've got to quit gesticulating so much. >> you're not even -- >> will cain, jason johnson, thanks so much for being with us. >> thank you. actor morgan freeman is putting his voice behind a new ad touting the election day victories in three states to legalize same-sex marriage. >> freedom, justice and human dignity have always guided our journey toward a more perfect union. now across our country, we're standing together for the right of gay and lesbian americans to marry the person they love. >> this ad by the human rights campaign is already airing nationwide. the legalization of same-sex marriage in maryland, maine and washington state marks the first time voters have decided same-sex marriage should be the

law of the land. here's a switch. hollywood bad girl lindsay lohan is reportedly getting some unaccepted help from another star who's had his own well publicized problems in the past. we'll tell you who her prince charming is.

nasa has announced a record breaking mission for the u.s. space agency. sending an astronaut to the international space agency for one year. science correspondent for pbs newshour mimles o'brien joins u. hello, mimes. >> hello, carol. >> we're talking about scott kelly. mark kelly's twin brother. tell us why he wants to spend so much time in space. >> well, it may be the view. that could be one reason. but really there is some important science which undergrids all of this.

if human beings are ever going to travel to mars, the red planet with the current chemical rocket systems that we have, they have to spend a lot of time in weightlessness before they ever get to the surface of the red planet. while there have been some long duration flights, the longest one is 438 days back in the mid-'90s to the russian space station, there are still a lot of gaps in the science as to what this does to our muscles, our bones, our heart, our neurovestibular system. we need to know more. >> the international space station is the only game in space, right? >> it's the only game in space. if you want a long stint in microgravity that's the place to go. a lot of people ask me where's the secret microgravity room in houston at nasa. no. you actually have to get in space to get in zero gravity. by putting people up in these flights, we can --

>> i wonder, does a year in space seem as long or shorter than a year on earth? >> that's a good question. when you have 15 sunrises, sunsets every day, you're spinning around the planet every 90 minutes, i suppose we could -- this requires some einstein relatively thinking, i suppose. a day is a day, i suppose. 24 hours is still 24 hours. even though days are kind of a different thing up there. >> good for him. captain scott kelly, good for you. going to go up there in 205. miles o'brien, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> you're welcome, carol. a warning for parents. those bounce houses for kids? they may be more dangerous than you think. we'll take a look at the spike in injuries caused by these things. [ male announcer ] citi turns 200 this year. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history.

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43 minutes past the hour.

the man at the center of a no tax pledge is concerned his controversial pledge is going out the window with lawmakers. what grover norquist said this morning on cnn's "starting point." the two sn their position hasn't changed. during the debt ceiling limit we cut spending, we didn't raise taxes. so other republicans did not listen to peter king or these others and say, oh, let's go raise taxes. they're speaking for themselves. >> most americans say the country would face a crisis or major problems if the country goes off the so-called fiscal cliff at the end of the year. a cnn/orc polls on the issues just out, more poll respondents said they'd blame republicans rather than the president if a compromise is not reached. kids love those bouncy houses. but parents will not love these latest figures from the journal pediatrics. a study found injuries from the inflatable bouncers spiked more than 15 times over a 15-year period.

about a quarter of the injuries were broken bones. researchers don't know for sure why these injuries are gone up so much. video of a black friday fight as a roseville, california, mall has gone viral. the man who took the picture still doesn't understand why security guards didn't move in sooner to break this up. lawrence corpus says the fight went on for 15 minutes before security finally stepped in. in sports, the indianapolis colts' cheer leader meghan m. backed up a pledge to shave her head if fans raised $10,000 for leukemia research. more than $22,000 raised and meghan's locks came off during yesterday's game. a second cheerleader also got her head shaved. shaved heads are a tribute to the colts' head coach chuck pagano who is battling leukemia. oh, lindsay lohan. say the name and hold your breath for the next problem in her scandal filled career. not this time. she's reportedly getting some unexpected help from another

star who's had his own problems. tell us at her prince charming. >> oh, prince charming, that's a new one. i haven't heard charlie sheen being called prince charming in a very long time, carol. but we're talking about this check that lindsay lohan reportedly got. that's just one of the stories out there about her this morning. a lot of people are talking about the troubled actress after her debut of the lifetime movie she was in "liz and dick." the other story is about this $100,000 check which sounds like it could be one of those type of publicity stunts from the elizabeth taylor and richard burton err ra, you know what i'm saying? tmz is saying charlie sheen gave lindsay lohan $100,000 to help her pay an overdue tax bill. the report says the pair met on the set of "scary movie 5" and have been friends ever since. let's just say any combination of the names lindsay lohan and charlie sheen, it's a tabloid's dream. of course, we reached out to sheen's reps. they would only say they are not going to comment about this. as for lindsay and her acting,

well, she may be hoping for a career boost from the film, but the critics have been really harsh about her performance. i've seen some headlines out there talking about, quote, unintentional hilarity. one critic also said she lacked charisma to play liz taylor. of course, the important reaction will come from the audience. if the movie gets a good number and there was a lot of people talking about it last night on social media, i think she will be pretty happy. carol, two things. we're friends. could i hold 100 grand? i mean, i'm good for it. >> i would do it for you in a minute. in a minute. >> you know? exactly. number two, i tried to listen -- i tried to watch the "liz and dick" movie last night but couldn't get past lindsay's voice. it's very much like this. i just couldn't get past it to watch it. it didn't sound elizabeth taylor-ish to me at all. >> i watched it, too. i could only stand it for about ten minutes. i had to go. i had to go. let's talk about chris brown and rihanna before you go. this is just -- it's just

bizarre. >> yeah. this started playing out on social media, too, last night. it's really vulgar. we can't actually show you any of the tweets. chris brown was swapping kind of vulgar tweets with his comedy writer. in the aftermath he has now suspended his twitter account. he and comedian jenny johnson last night. she actually started this brouhaha. brown first tweeted something about looking old at 23 years old. she replied being worthless can age a person. it evolved into a schoolyard fight with profanity. degrading comments from chris brown who really needs to learn how to avoid these kind of things. one of these don't press send moments. think before you press send. he's getting more scrutiny after reports that he may have spent thanksgiving with rihanna.

she posted a picture on twitter of what looks like him topless, face down on a bed. she followed up with a topless photo of herself. the buzz is, of course, these two are back together. while they haven't publicly admitted to being a couple, you keep getting these pictures like these, like this, you know, speculation keeps oncoming. i think they may actually like it. >> sadly, i think you're right. it's just -- it's just so unhealthy and such a bad example. >> just a sigh. i know. just makes you say -- more republican lawmakers are saying they're willing to break that no new tax pledge than go over the fiscal cliff. but could it cost them their job? we'll talk about that as our talk back question today. can i help you?

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"talk back" question for you today. what should republicans expect in return for new taxes? this from jeffrey. nothing.

it's the right thing to do and part of the responsibility. this from janine. you can tax every penny from the rich in this country and it won't pay for our ridiculous spending addiction. from harold. a cut in military spending to go along with it. we can use that money to do some nation-building right here at home. this from randy. i would give on social security retirement age. i can't afford to retire until i'm 70, anyway. and this from selinda, cut everything but entitlements, cut the military, cut tax benefits for corporations, and raise the medicare and social security tax on paychecks. keep the conversation flowing. facebook.com/carolcnn. back with sports after this. ♪ [ male announcer ] a european-inspired suspension, but it's not from germany. ♪ a powerful, fuel-efficient engine, but it's not from japan. ♪ it's a car like no other...

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ronald reagan was president, poisons -- every rose has its thorn was the top single on the

billboard chart. and notre dame was the national champion of college football january 2nd, 1989. joining me, vince chelani, 24 years since the irish was in the mix. >> yeah, 1989 was a good year. >> it was. i have great memories. >> notre dame, yes. it is a good thing. how did they get here, notre dame? it's been a slow, steady climb for the irish. and carol, this is good for college football. notre dame is a brand, one of the strongest brands in all of sports. and brian kelly has gone 8-5 and now 12-0, only unbeaten eligible for a championship. if you watch notre dame football, a lot of people love notre dame, a lot of people don't like notre dame very much. but you have to respect that guy, their linebacker, an amazing defense. they play smash mouth football. it's not pretty, but it's very effective. look at him now. >> that's all that matters, right? so notre dame is likely to play the winner of the

alabama-georgia game. so what will be the key for notre dame? >> in the s.e.c. championship, the team that notre dame is going to face, let's move forward to that. >> sorry. >> saturday, it will take place in the georgia dome. alabama and georgia. the amazing thing about this, the southeastern conference will be represented in a national championship game for a seventh straight year. incredible run. georgia turned its season around and really their quarterback turned their season around against florida, when aaron murray picked himself up off the deck, a horrible game, got it together in the second half and they have been pretty much unstoppable ever since. but georgia has only played two ranked teams, one south carolina beat georgia. alabama, they are alabama. they find a way to answer. now, they did lose to texas a&m but found themselves back in the s.e.c. championship and facing georgia. battle of quarterbacks. i mentioned murray. the other quarterback to pay attention to is aj mccarron of alabama. he's a caretaker, not a spectacular player, but doesn't make a lot of mistakes and had a

huge signature drive on the road against lsu to beat the tigers. so those two quarterbacks don't make a lot of mystics and whoever runs the ball more effectively. did i cover it? >> yeah, you covered that. let's talk about something i really know, pro football. eagles-panthers, philadelphia. >> how about that monday-nighter? >> i know. i just continue to worry about andy reid because he looks so pathetic. >> yeah, it's been a very rough year for the eagles and their head coach andy reid. a lot of folks are calling for his head. this team lost six in a row, the most since before he took over. but while a lot of people want him fired right now, i think you have to look at the body of work, carol, for him. six division titles, he won an nfc championship game, winningest coach ever in philadelphia. and i think a little respect, too, for reid as a person who lost his son earlier in the season. you could make a change with this eagles' team, a lot of injuries, including michael vick. but a lot of people also believe

that an interim coach in the middle of a year doesn't always translate into immediately turning things around. so i believe, like a lot of people, that reid will be gone, but it won't happen probably until the end of the year. >> vince chelani from bleacher report, thank you so much. >> don't forget, go to bleacherreport.com. carol, good to see you. >> i'm going there now. soon. next hour of cnn "newsroom" starts right now. stories we're watching right now in the "newsroom." health alert. a popular cholesterol-lowering drug recalled after concerns there may be specks of glass in the bottles. african-american voters, they turned out in big numbers for president obama on election day. now one activist says it's time to leverage that loyalty. a confetti controversy at macy's thanksgiving day parade. now one police department wants to know how shredded personal documents from its office landed on parade attendees' hands.

and there's a bounce house jump scare in parents. injuries up 15-fold. "newsroom" starts now. and good morning to you. thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol costello. the world's second-biggest clothing exporter faces new scrutiny this morning after a major, and i'm talking major factory fire on saturday. at least 117 people were killed when this nine-story building in bangladesh caught fire. more victims could still be inside. 2,000 people were at work here at the time. it's unclear just how many people actually managed to get out. >> translator: when we heard fire, we all rushed and were trying to get out of the factory. the factory worker broke a window and one of the workers pulled me through the window. immediately after the fire broke, we tried to run out, but the door was locked. when the floor became dark

because of smoke, the boys rescued me. >> clothing is big business in bangladesh and it's likely you're wearing some of that clothing right now. or it's at least in your closet. companies like walmart, jcpenney, h & m and kohls all sell clothing made in the asian country, some made in that very factory. just this morning, another fire started. this time inside a ten-story factory building. it took firefighters four hours to get that blaze under control. no one died in this blaze, but ten people were hurt. and then just after the second fire, thousands of workers took to the streets in bangladesh, a demonstration that lasted for hours to bring attention to the working conditions in the country's 4,500 factories. alison kosik is live at the new york stock exchange with more on this tragedy from the american business angle. good morning. >> good morning. these working conditions are notoriously poor, with some experts calling them death traps. according to the clean clothes

campaign, that's an anti sweat shop advocacy group, more than 500 workers have died in fires over the past six years. these factories are accused of not taking simple precautions to protect their employees. many shops are in cramped neighborhoods. they don't have enough fire escapes. they don't follow basic safety measures. these advocacy groups are calling on these employers and the government in bangladesh to invest in some type of country-wide inspection program to make sure these buildings where literally thousands of people work are up to par. but the problem is for many bangladeshis, this is their best option for work. and when they speak out against the poor wages, which, by the way, are among the world's lowest or speak out about the safety issues, they say they're harassed by their employers. as for the retailers, experts say they need to take more responsibilit responsibility. for their part, many say they're trying to improve, but it doesn't seem to be enough at this point. walmart says it does a global responsibility report, saying it stopped working with almost 50 factories in bangladesh last year because of fire safety

issues. h & m is also making a big effort toward fire safety and increasing the minimum wage in bangladesh. but it takes a while for changes to happen. and in the meantime, tragedies like these happen, and it really makes me think twice before i walk into stores again and buy clothes. that's just me, though, carol. >> alison kosik, thank you. judy garehart is executive director of the international rights labor forum, joins us now from washington. good morning, judy. >> hi, good morning, carol. >> good morning. tell us what it's like to work inside one of those factories. >> well, the factories -- it depends which factory you're in, but it's generally fairly crowded, and there are rows and rows of workers on stools. at sewing stations. what happens in the case of the fire, especially a fire at night, is that the lights go out. so you have the fire, you have darkness, you have no -- not enough emergency exits. sometimes the emergency exits are blocked by some of the work in progress that's on the floor.

and alison made a very good point. the workers don't feel they can speak out, don't know enough about what the risks are that they are working within. and they also feel like if they do speak out, they might lose their job. and the same goes for the factories. the factoriestell the retaile retailers, we really need to improve the situation in this factory, they're not really guaranteed they'll be able to keep selling to those retailers. >> just let me ask, from an american company perspective, alison mentioned that a walmart puts out a global responsibility report. how much does that improve conditions in countries like bangladesh? >> well, a lot of t brands put out reports, ay put out codes of conduct and voluntary monitoring programs. the problem we have is on three levels. one is a lot of those reports and the audits they're doing are confidential. they don't even share it from one brand to the other. we had a couple fires at the end of last year where we found out that some brands had left the

factory because they found them unsafe. they hadn't shared that information. so there's this -- there's this secret world of information that's not being shared with the rightople. the other area where we have a problem, as i mentioned, the workers are not able to speak out. and then there's nothing that goes beyond voluntary. everything that the brands are doing right now is voluntary. they're not -- they're not willing to sign binding agreements or contractual agreements to keep those workers safe. >> but couldn't -- couldn't american companies require that? because, you know, bangladesh? after all, these factories are making all their money off american comnies. so american coaniesort of haomethi to wield, some power here. >> right. indeed. they do have power. the question is, are they -- are the factories able to negotiate with the brands? are the brands -- why aren't the brands paying a better price or establishing a more faithful relationship.

again, you have this dilemma where the factory doesn't have the funds to improve the factory or there is no faithful relationship. they don't know if they're going to have the orders from wmart they'tno if they're going to be able to make the investment. so it's really this whole problem we have with global supply chains where the global brands have taken a distance from responsibility of the workers that are actually making the product. >> judy gearhart, executive director of the international rights labor forum. thank you so much for coming in and being with us this morning. >> thank you it, carol. within the past hour, we did reach out to walmart for a statement. we have not yet heard back. nasa las hour recordaking hn fo u.s. sce agency, sending an astronaut to the international space station for a year. captain scott kelly is scheduled to fly in 2015. the current record for the longest single mission in space for a u.s. astronaut is just over 215 days. a russian cosmonaut holds the

space record of 438 days. now to the so-called fiscal cliff. 36 days from the crisis, and there are new signs today of just how cawmake are. t nate returns to session today, more republicans say they'll work toward a compromise, even if they have to break a promise not to raise taxes. senator bob corker, republican from tennessee, addressed the issue on "cbs this morning." >> i'm not obligated on the pledge. i made tennesseeans aware, the only thing i'm holding is the oath i take when i'm sworn in january. no congress in history more prepared to make these s. had two dry runs, litigated this, gone through every single score of every single decision that would have to be made. and the last thing we need to do right now is kick the can down the road. >> senator corker becomes the latest republican to say he would violate the anti tax pledge. he follows senator saxby chand list of georgia, who made a

similar statement last week, and new york congressman peter king and senator lindsay graham both said they're willing to strike a bipartisan deal. chdf activist and lobbyist ain grover norquist, a long time power broker of the gop. dan lothian is at the white house. dan, what exactly would either side have to give up to strike a bipartisan deal? >> well, obviously, we don't have all the details, because this is part of these ongoing negotiations. but we do know that house speaker john boehner has talked about putting health care reform on the table. there are democrats who want to make sure that middle class americans, those families making up to $250,000 a year, t eir taxes won't go u wealthier americans will pay more. and then both republicans and democrats are talking about putting entitlement programs on the table, mostly republicans pushing this. but some democrats, as well. take a listen what senator dick durbin had to say about that over the weekend. >> social security does not add one penny to our debt.

not a penny. it's a separate funded operation, and we can do things that i believe we should now, smaller things, play out over the long term that gives it solvency. medicare is another story. only 12 years of solvency lie ahead if we do nothing. so those who say don't touch it, don't change it, are ignoring the obvious. we want medicare to be there for today's seniors and tomorrow's as well. voucherizing it, privatizing it, we can make meaningful reform. >> the president obama has expressed a willingness in the past to put entitlement programs on the table. he has been getting some resistance from some in his party, especially organized labor. so it will be interesting to see if that again will be something that democrats push for. the bottom line here, though, is that no easy solutions here as both sides try to find some agreement, carol. >> you got that right. so when is the next meeting between the white house and congresselnal leaders? >> well, so far that we know of,

there is nothing on the schedule. the last time the president met with democratic leaders, republican leaders at the white house was the friday before he went on that southeast asia trip. at the time, both sides said they were confident that they could reach some kind of agreement to avoid this fiscal cliff. we expect, perhaps, they'll meet again but so far nothing on the schedule. >> dan lothian reporting live from the white house. millions of americans take cholesterol-lowering drugs, but one of those drugs, a generic, is now being recalled for possibly containing specks of glass. joining me now, senior medical correspondent, elizabeth cohen. specks of glass? >> i know. isn't that bizarre? and very scary? the company says they're recalling it out of an abundance of caution. and as far as we know, no one has been hurt. but when you hear specks of glass -- these specks, we're told, are less than a millimeter small. we don't know if they're within the pills or scattered in the bottles. we don't know. and the reason we don't know,

this company has given very little detail. we have been trying to call the fda, carol, for two days, to get details. this has been -- the most popular prescription drug ever at one point in time. and we're not getting answers to our questions. so here's what we can tell you. atorvastatin, which is generic lipitor made by ranbaxy pharmaceutical, several companies -- we're talking about these one. and the lot numbers, cnn.com/empoweredpatient. so if you are taking this drug, go on and click on the link and see if your lot number is involved. >> so how might this happen? >> we don't know. and what's -- two things that are disturbing about this. one, other problems with other drugs having strange things that weren't supposed to be in there. number two, this company had a history. so the fda has been -- has looked at this company. there have been complaints about this company. fda said this about this company, this manufacturer had a pattern of systemic, fraudulent

conduct that involved some quality issues. so they knew there were some issues. one thing i think americans don't realize, they think the fda is there 24/7, that every drug manufacturing plant in the country looking at what's happening. and that's not the case. they inspect, but they're not there all the time. hardly. months and months or even years can go by before they do an inspection. >> okay. since so many people take this drug, is there any danger of a shortage? should we worry? >> it is possible. ranbaxy is the biggest generic manufacturer of lipitor. so that's a possibility. but there are other manufacturers and the fda says they're working to try to make sure there won't be shortages. >> hopefully they return your call. thanks so much. flashbacks of arab spring. more protests, more outrage, and this time aimed at the man who promised democracy. [ male announcer ] with over 50 delicious choices

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explosion that destroyed a strip club in springfield, massachusetts. the blast injured 21 people, including firefighters. a utility worker investigating a report of a gas odor accidentally triggered the explosion. authorities say the gas line was improperly indicated on a sidewalk. take a look at these pictures from black friday. a fight at a roseville, california mall, and it's gone viral. the man who took the picture still doesn't understand why security guards didn't move in sooner to break up the fight. the fight went on for 15 minutes before security finally stepped in. and the man who ignited worldwide protests with his anti muslim film says he has no regrets. that's according to the "new york times." some people died, as you know, when protests turned violent. one wound up in jail, not because of his film, but for violating the terms of a fraud conviction. the egyptian president, mohamed morsi, is facing more anger this morning.

protests now escalating over his move to grant himself extensive new powers. today morsi meets with egypt's highest judicial body. according to state news media, it calls morsi's actions a power grab an unprecedented attack on the young democracy. cnn's reza sayah is in cairo. reza, tell us more about what's happening on the ground today. >> reporter: lots happening today in cairo, carol. some events with the potential of possibly leading to a solution in this conflict. other developments could potentially further complicate this conflict. let's start with the positives at this hour. president morsi meeting with the supreme judicial counsel, a number of judges. those two sides have been going at it over the past several days. we'll see in the coming hours what the outcome of that meeting is. in the meantime, developments today that could further en hangel this conflict. according to egyptian state tv,

next week on december 4th, a number of cases will be brought up against mr. morsi in accord here in egypt, allegation that his decrees announced last week are unconstitutional. here's where the intrigue comes in. you'll recall one of his decrees last week banned any authority, even the judiciary from questioning, appealing, or overturning any of thinks decisions since he's taken office in june. so we'll see what happens with those cases next week. in the meantime, the protests continue behind us in tahrir square. leaders of the opposition faction, they're digging in saying they're not going to talk to mr. morsi until he reverses his decrees. we spoke to one of his top advisers, and he told us he wants dialogue first between the two sides. and then maybe, maybe they'll consider adjusting them. so that's where the standoff is, carol, at this hour. of course, tomorrow two competing protests. the muslim brotherhood with a 1

million man protest also opposing factions with their own 1 million man protest. >> reza sayah reporting live from egypt this morning. the fragile cease-fire appears to be holding in the gaza district. today mediators continue talks with israel. topics include opening border crossing and easing israel's border conflict. the talks come as palestinian authority leaders go before the united nations this week and renew their bid for statehood. "talk back" question for you. huh should republicans expect in return for new taxes? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be right back. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock.

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now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, what should republicans expect in return for new taxes? omg, this is big. two more prominent republicans are throwing anti tax lobbyist, grover norquist, under the bus. >> i think grover is wrong when it comes to we can't cap deductions and buy down debt. what do you want to do with the nun? i want to buy down debt and

create rates to create jobs. only if democrats would do entitlement reform. >> i ask you, is that the statement of a poopy head, as grover norquist might say, or maybe it means the gig is up, grover. not so fast. see, mr. norquist, a powerful lobbyist, has long had a lock on nearly every republican in congress. he's the guy who keeps reminding us that george h.w. bush lost the election after violating his read my lips no new taxes pledge. >> if you want to go to your voters and say, i promised you this, and i'm breaking my promise, you can have that conversation with them. but you don't have an argument with me. you've made a commitment to your voters. >> still, democrats are heartened by the new grover is over mini movement. although they shouldn't do the happy dance just yet, because republicans will want payback, as in medicare, medicaid and social security. so for all of you who want tax hikes on the wealthy, what are you willing to give up in return

on social security, raising the retirement age to 70, on medicare, a total revamp, as in instead of the government paying your medicare bills, you pay them with help from the government. you tell me. "talkback" question for you, what should republicans expect in return for new taxes? facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. social security numbers of police officers and confidential case details. just some of the sensitive information that landed on the heads of attendees at the macy's day thanksgiving day parade. yep. the longer you stay with us, the more you save. and when you switch from another company to us, we even reward you for the time you spent there. genius. yeah, genius. you guys must have your own loyalty program, right? well, we have something. show her, tom. huh? you should see november!

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no one was killed in today's fire, which took firefighters four hours to bring under control. but on saturday, at least 117 people were killed in another fire at a nearby factory. and because of these fires, thousands of workers have now taken to the streets, protesting the deaths of their colleagues. a congressman-elect from florida finds himself escorted out of a walmart. in a letter to "the huffington post," democrat allen grazen says he was handing out turkey sand witches to walmart workers, protesting conditions in orlando and that's when he says he was escorted outside. on black friday, similar protests took place at many walmarts across the nation. it will soon look a lot more like christmas at the u.s. capitol. the u.s. christmas tree was delivered. the 65-foot tall angleman spruce comes from colorado. it will be decorated with 5,000 ornaments made by coloradoans. we know of at least four

prominent republicans open to some kind of tax hikes on the wealthiest americans, but what about democrats? what will they give up in return? president obama is in a tough place. during the election, the president vowed to help the middle class. but many of his constituents want more. among them, african-americans who turned out in droves to vote for obama, despite an unemployment rate way above the national average. 14.3%. joining me now is human rights it activist marco hudgens. thank you for being here. >> thank you, carol. >> in the past couple days, we heard some republicans come out and say they're willing to violate this no tax pledge. does that give you hope? >> it does. i think it shows that many republicans now understand what we have come to understand the last decade and that is if you want to remain relevant in the body politic, you have to adjust your beliefs and how you govern. and i think that's a hard lesson republicans had to learn this election cycle. >> doesn't let democrats off the hook, though. because democrats are going to have to give something back. and as far as the

african-american community, where is it willing? >> well, i think that the african-american community, as displayed, i think, by the 2012 election cycle, has displayed a certain level of maturity over the last decade. and especially, i think, since president obama was elected. we understand that politics is the art of compromise. and if we are going to get any kind of real solutions to some of the problems that uniquely face african-americans, we're going to have to stand with the president as he compromises and understand that politics is, in fact, the art of compromise. >> what would be off the table as far as the african-american community is concerned? >> i think there are certain things we just can't stand for. one, a cut in social security. medicaid and medicare should be off the table. >> but that's what republicans want. they say we've got to curb these -- especially medicare, because medicare is going to go by the wayside in 12 years, i think. >> i think there are certainly things they can find to cut in places. for example, we spend more on

defense in america than any other nation in the world, and most other nations combined. we are outspending china now, something like four to one, and they're second only to us when it comes to defense in military spending. there are places we can find to save money and to cut budget, but we cannot do so on the backs of the most suffering people in our community. and african-americans disproportionately benefit from medicaid, medicare and social security. but we must not preserve those programs, exclusively for the benefit of african-americans. it benefits the whole of america for us to preserve those programs that serve the underclass. >> but see, if the african-american community pushed cuts in defense, let's say, that's something the republicans aren't so much for. especially since, maybe, african-american community isn't willing to give up anything in en titlements. >> well, i think that there again, there are many, many places that we can can find in the budget to cut and at the same time preserve. look, we can find ways of doing

almost any other thing we want to to balance budgets in america. certainly we can do so without adversely impacting african-americans, hispanics and other minorities. but i think what's interesting, carol, this is not just a conversation about what is good for african-americans. it's what's good for america. ten days after the president was re-elected, he called in a diverse constituency of people. he called in the council of laraza, reverend sharpton, the president of the naacp, the national urban league. the president called them in to discuss how these potential cuts that will be required by a fiscal cliff will impact their constituencies. but we cannot in the african-american community deal with them exclusively and outside of the rest of the american agenda. this is not just about -- >> having said that, i'm sure you've heard about the hundreds of thousands of people who are signing petitions to secede from the union. it's going to president obama's website. what do you make of that?

because it seems that we're more divided than ever. >> i think that is just the latest round of what one might call visceral insanity from some people in america. first, it was the birther movement. and then it was something else. and now it's this kind of insane secession notion. we still struggle in america, dealing with issues around race and class and ethnicity. and the fact of the matter is, the president was re-elected in an overwhelming fashion. many people, including those that were appearing on your show and others here on this network, were predicting that african-americans would not come to the polls and vote, that did not happen. and i think that that whole succession conversation is just the latest round of foolishness. >> thanks so much. >> thank you, carol. >> for stopping by. reverend markel hutchins. if you didn't have power for weeks on end, should you pay for your electricity? electricity you didn't have? that's the case for many victims of superstorm sandy.

the "new york post" is reporting the long island power authority is sending out normal bills to its customers, zapping them for charges, even though they were left in the cold and dark for weeks on end. it's the latest in response to sandy. >> this is a crisis of epic proportions. this is a natural disaster. we are here as one community together to send a message. we've had enough. lipa is disgusting. the management of lipa should be fired from top to bottom. >> whoa. alison kosik joins me now from new york. wow. you have a response from lipa. what does it say? >> reporter: okay so what lipa is doing is trying to deflect outrage. lipa is telling us, because they had to use meter readers to help with the effort to restore power, that many residents

received estimated bills instead of actual ones. and that their next actual meter reading will reflect the period they didn't have electricity. but still, people aren't happy. no surprise there. one telling me he plans to tear up his next bill in an act of civil disobedience. and the "new york post" talked with other lipa customers with one customer saying he got the bill through an e-mail on thanksgiving that he says was crass and classless because his building was flooded, boarded up. he hasn't been home since the storm and the bill came in $1 more than the previous month. so these are people who didn't have power for weeks. and they're being hit with these bills. and they make everything appear like it was just normal. so there are questions about whether anything was taken off the bill during the time in the dark. though lipa says what it is trying to do is hold the business for people who still don't have power. yeah, this doesn't make them appear sympathetic at all. you know, this isn't the first time lipa has been accused of lacking communication skills. a state report in june accused lipa of poor customer

communications after hurricane irene hit last year. at that time, the company acknowledged customers weren't getting the information they needed because of its computer system was in the process of updating. two residents affected by sandy, carol, are already suing lipa for what they say is an archaic process of dealing with these outages. that is putting it lightly, if you ask me, carol. >> wow. okay. let's talk about the markets before you go. they've been open for about an hour. how are stocks doing? >> reporter: stocks aren't doing too well. the dow down 65 points, the nasdaq s&p down slightly, as well. those worries about the fiscal cliff, you know, the tax hikes, the spending cuts happening all at once. congress gets back to work this week, so, you know, investors are closely watching to see if they're going to be able to hammer out a deal. there are also worries about whether or not greece can can get another loan payment. so there are some questions there. that's weighing on the market, not giving much reason for investors to buy in, at least not yet, carol. >> alison kosik from the new york stock exchange. we'll be right back.

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says ssn and then there is a number and it's written like a social security number. and we're like, that's really bizarre. >> reporter: it looked like this. we've blurred out the social security number and other information but it made the college freshman concerned, so he and his friends picked up more. >> there are phone numbers on it, addresses, more social security numbers, license plate numbers and then we find all these instant reports from police. >> reporter: in fact, some of the confetti strips mentioned arrest records, and had official police reports. >> this was really shocking. it says about 4:38 a.m. a home made pipe bomb was thrown outside the kings grant area. >> reporter: a close look showed the documents were from the nassau county police department, part of its official emblem there. there was information about mitt romney's motorcade, apparently from the final presidential debate in nassau county last month. and most important, the confetti identified detectives, some apparently undercover with

social security numbers, dates of birth and other highly sensitive confidential information that we're concealing. >> i was just completely in shock that -- how could anyone have this type of sensitive information? and why is it being shredded and distributed at the thanksgiving day parade? >> reporter: that's what we wanted to know, as well. nassau county police told us they're concerned and are launching an investigation, as well as reviewing how they dispose of sensitive documents. what you see right here is official macy's confetti. that's according to the sponsor of the parade, macy's itself, and it says that this other confetti, which appears to be shredded police documents, those must have come from some source other than an official macy's employee. because of our report, the nassau county police department has opened up that investigation. reporting from the upper west side, i'm james ford, 11 news.

>> wow. okay. we'll keep you posted. you think talks to prevent a fiscal cliff are tough? try negotiations on the playground. we'll hear from some pros and amateurs about working together. [ male announcer ] are you considering a new medicare plan? then you may be looking for help in choosing the right plan for your needs. so don't wait. call now. whatever your health coverage needs, unitedhealthcare can help you find the right plan. open enrollment to choose your medicare coverage begins october 15th and ends december 7th. so now is the best time to review your options and enroll in a plan. medicare has two main parts, parts a and b, to help cover a lot of your expenses, like hospital care... and doctor visits. but they still won't cover all of your costs. now's the time to learn about unitedhealthcare plans that may be right for you.

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and lindsey graham have made similar statements. the anti tax pledge is the brain child of grover norquist, long-time power broker. supreme court justices are expected to meet in closed-door session friday to look over same-sex marriage petitions. the high court could decide to take up one of five challenges to the defense of marriage act or california's proposition 8 case. kids love those bounce houses, but parents will not love these latest figures from the journal of pediatrics. a study found injuries from the inflatable bouncers spiked more than 15 times over a 15-year period. about a quarter of those injuries were broken bones. researchers don't know for sure why these injuries have gone up so much. the rolling stones are back. did they ever leave? anyway, the rolling stones holding their first concert in five years to celebrate their 50th anniversary together. michelle turner is in los angeles.

good morning. >> reporter: good morning. and good point, carol. heck, no, they never left. those boys have still got it, yes they do. they were celebrating 50 years as a band with a special performance in london. they first played at a london club in 1962. and it wasn't just mick jagger and keith richards. they welcomed back buyman and taylor. they ran through "start me up" to "sympathy for the devil." and by all reports, they just killed it. they seemed to be having a great time. jagger at one point asked the fans in the cheap seats how they were doing and then he kidded about how those seats weren't actually so cheap. fans are doing what they came to see. the tickets reportedly ranged from 95 to 950 pounds, and that's at face value. they'll play five shows, three the u.s., and those tickets, you can bet, are not going to be cheap either. because one of the stones' hits from 1965 says -- you remember that song, carol?

"this could be the last time." >> aww, somehow i doubt it, though. but you're right. hope not. michelle turner, thanks for all your entertainment headlines. watch "showbiz tonight," 11:00 eastern on hln.

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the countdown is on. 36 takes until we reach the so-called fiscal cliff. can the president and congress get a deal done? it all depends on working together. a lesson learned by hostage negotiators, high-profile attorneys, and yes, kids on the playground. here's cnn's kyung lah. >> we cannot afford to extend the bush tax cuts for the wealthy. >> 700,000 jobs would be destroyed. >> reporter: two sides, ground into their positions. but they can meet in the middle. just ask tough negotiators outside the beltway. >> i'm the negotiator who knows how to deal with bad guys. >> reporter: he's not talking about politicians. but crooks. literally. trimarco was the fbi's negotiator in high-profile bank who is tamg standoffs. he says he peacefully freed dozens of hostages during his 20

years with the agency. he negotiated seemingly impossible deals and says he never lost a life. you have to plan for everything going wrong as a negotiator. >> yeah. you've got to be ready for it. and to deal with it. and you've got to be flexible. >> reporter: but not too flexible. the lawyer for hollywood heavy weights like harvey weinstine, james cameron and tom cruise knows about ugly divorces, public fights with studios and, yes, fair deals. >> at what point is it better to have no deal than the deal being offered? >> reporter: do you have an appreciation for what obama and boehner are looking for? >> oh, absolutely. i sympathize with both of them. it's not fun for these guys, because there's too much at stake. fun for me, because the worst that happens is my client gets less money, not the end of the world. it may seem so. >> reporter: maybe you can't please everyone, but even children know, you have to

cooperate. >> maybe work together, build together, maybe connect it? what do you think? >> oh, yeah! >> reporter: a daily lesson on the playground, working together sprouts even better solutions. >> that's a great idea! do you want to see my great idea? >> reporter: do you think these lessons on the playground need to be transferred? >> absolutely. absolutely. we need -- we need to find a way to work together, to figure out what's going to be acceptable to everybody. we've got to figure it out. otherwise i mean, we all lose. >> reporter: there's nothing surprising here, because maybe it's just that simple. so if they can do it -- how old are you guys? >> 5. >> 5. >> reporter: maybe the political playground can do it, too. kyung lah, cnn los angeles. >> come on, congress, make a great mud pie. you can do it "talk back" question today, what should republicans expect in return for new taxes? your response is next. tipation,

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for many of us, the holidays means hitting the road, and that makes staying on your diet extra challenging. in this "daily dose," bob harper from "the biggest loser" gives us tips to stay on track. >> hi, i'm trainer bob harper, and i'm on the road for about 200 days out of the year. one of the best travel stories that i have when it it comes to "the biggest loser," we got to go to washington, d.c. and i got to work out the first lady. i mean, that was the coolest thing i've ever done in my entire life. when i'm on the road, i always find time to work out. this is exactly what i do. being out on the road does not excuse you from working out. i don't want to rely on someone else giving me the food that i need to eat. so that's why i always travel

with the certain necessities. i'm going to have strawberries and blueberries with me every time. they're rich in antioxidants, plenty of fiber and this is what i want to snack on. and nuts are so easy to travel with, because they don't need to be refrigerated, full of fiber, full of protein. packed up, ready to go. maybe i'll see you on the road. >> okay. "talk back" question for you this morning. what should republicans expect in return for new taxes? you know, as in entitlements. this is from tom. he says social security is not an entitlement. i paid into it. don't mess with it. this from leonard. raising the retirement age is great. we need reforms all over. but we still need to make sure everyone is paying their fair share. this from marsha. republicans should expect nothing in return. it's the american people that should expect something that our politicians work for us. and not grover norquist. thanks for taking part in the conversation. please, the conversation should